Lost Opportunities

I walked into a large used furniture store recently looking for an antique bureau. I had never heard of this store and just happened to drive by. A man in his 50's, who appeared to be the owner, was doing work on his computer and briefly glanced up. I looked around the store for a few minutes and left shaking my head. There was nobody else in the store and part of the reason was obvious. The service was terrible and the store was boring and dull. There wasn't any music playing and the walls were bare.

This man lost a multitude of business opportunities by being complacent. A passionate business owner with powerful marketing skills would run this business different. Here is what a masterful marketer, like your self, would do:

• Get out of your seat and greet customers with warm smiles.
• Offer coffee and a doughnut, pastry, Glacier Ice Cream, etc.
• Try to strike up conversations with the intention of discovering commonalities.
  
• Ask customers if they are looking for anything specific. If they aren't, keep an eye on them and tell them to feel free to ask any questions.
• Offer to call a competitor for items you do not stock. A network of used furniture stores that cooperate can be very effective. New furniture stores are also competition to used furniture stores. I wound up buying a new bureau.
• Offer a $20 off your next visit coupon in exchange for the customers email information. Keep a database of items customers are looking for and send out periodic offers through email newsletters.
• Have music and wall decorations in the store. You should also sell everything displayed on the walls.
  
• Give your customers coupons for a 10%-20% premium when they sell use furniture to the store.
  
• Market heavily at and around the local university that has over 10,000 students move in and out each year. (None of the over ten used furniture stores in Boulder do this)
• Do fusion marketing with other used item businesses like clothing stores, bicycle stores, and home furnishing stores. You can network, offer coupons, and put small displays in co-operating businesses.
• Establish relationships with local landlords and property management companies.
• Put furniture displays outside your store on sunny days.
• When your customers are completely satisfied with everything you offer, hand out special offer coupons to give their friends. You can even make it more beneficial for customers. Offer $100 in free merchandise for each $500 in business that the coupons generate.

You have control of your destiny. Ignorance is not an excuse. Struggling entrepreneurs can either wallow in their misery or do something about it. There is an endless source of free marketing information on the web or you can hire a professional marketing consultant to help you regain your dream. This is your moment. Create a profitable business that is the perfect reflection of you.

Fusion Marketing

We small-business owners are usually hard working, independent people. Unfortunately, that mindset often prevents us from asking for, as the Beatles said, "a little help from our friends.”

One of the most powerful small business marketing techniques is called ‘Fusion Marketing’. Fusion marketing is cooperative marketing with non-competing businesses that share similar types of customers. Each business markets its products or services with its partners.

For example, Glacier Ice Cream in Boulder, Colorado has made fusion marketing arrangements with two local pizza shops. Glacier sells wholesale pints of ice cream to Sun Deli and Skinny Jays. The pizza restaurants put Glacier coupons on pizza boxes. In return, Sun Deli and Skinny Jays display their menus in Glacier’s stores.

Write down a list of businesses that have the same type of customers as your business. Brainstorm ideas on how your businesses can work together to attract each other’s customers. Some businesses are natural fits to work with each other. Here are a couple of ideas:

• Business coaches- Marketers, bankers, accountants, bookkeepers, and advertisers.
  
• Caterers- Photographers, florists, musicians, and event centers.
  
• Real estate agents- Builders, bankers, handymen, painters, plumbers, and mortgage brokers.
• Personal trainers-Message therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, yoga instructors, and martial arts studios.
• Furniture stores-Real estate agents, builders, movers, and carpet stores.

The idea behind fusion marketing is for independent business owners to work together to help each other out with marketing and referrals. You can take it a step further and hold regular meetings to discuss new ideas and co-marketing opportunities. Join your local chamber of commerce to network with fellow local business owners. Make the synergy of local businesses working together a powerful force in your community.

Information Overload

Our brains are suffering from information overload. It is like a 24/7 carnival of electronic stimulation. Don’t let the valuable information pass you by. Start an electronic file system that keeps track of all of your most important information and ideas.

I currently keep electronic files on marketing ideas, persuasion techniques, valuable websites, quotes, negotiating tips, business ideas, and more. In six months' time, I have referenced over 3,000 pieces of information from close to 20 years of files and books. This information will be invaluable once it is indexed in a more accessible manner. I encourage you to start doing the same.

“The object of education isn't knowledge, it’s action” Thomas Kempis

Don’t read this post if you are easily offended

The potential for persuasion can be lost at the drop of a word. Mention a controversial issue and many people become so offended that they can’t focus on the overall message, whatever it may be. This is very common in politics. It drives people to vote based on a candidate’s stand on single issues like abortion, taxation, or the death penalty.

I have an opinion that is so controversial in my community, I will not talk about it in my ice cream stores. I will share it with you at the end of the post because I fear that if I tell you now, my overall message may be lost.

Building a rapport with your customers is important, yet there are some things you shouldn’t discuss. Religion is one of them. For instance, if you were a salesperson, this joke would probably be a bad idea. But for our purposes, it’s worth the laugh.

Warning: If anyone is offended by the following, feel free to substitute Rabbi, Imam, Father, Tom Cruise, or whoever for the role of priest.

One beautiful sunny day, a priest and his church’s web designer, John, go out for a round of golf for the very first time.

John tees up on the first hole and takes a huge swing. Whiff.

“%%@ damn it, I missed,” screams John.

The priest looks at the web designer and says, “I am a man of the cloth, please don’t talk that way.”

John apologizes profusely.

John slowly approaches the ball, takes another huge swing, and misses.

“%%@ damn it,” he screams.

The priest lowers his head and says, “You cannot take the lord’s name in vain. If you say that one more time, there will be a problem.”

The web designer shakes his head and approaches the ball for the third time. He takes a slow, deliberate swing and misses again. He holds his breath and starts to turn red. Finally, he can’t take it anymore and screams.

“%%@ damn it.”

The priest immediately drops to his knees and starts to pray. Dark clouds roll in. The previously sunny sky turns grey. Out of nowhere, a lightning bolt flashes from the sky and turns the priest to ashes.

From the sky comes a booming voice.

“%%@ damn it, I missed.”

I have a bad habit of sometimes talking without thinking. I also have a good habit of analyzing impartially what I have said, what I read, and life in general. I woke up this morning thinking of a blog I read last night. My Internet friend, Duane, wrote a very entertaining and informative blog about hype.

What I remembered most about the blog was Duane’s opinion that sushi is dangerous. I looked back over the blog and found some great points. The problem in my frail human mind was that Duane made what I felt was an incorrect statement that I could not get out of my head. It clouded my memory of the post.

For the record, health codes in the U.S require sushi to be frozen at extremely low temperatures to destroy harmful organisms. I respect all opinions and do not get offended by different points of view. The problem is, my brain’s initial reaction isn’t always so fair.

You must consider how customers react to the statements we make about controversial issues. I do not consider sushi controversial. Abortion, politics, and global warming can be.

Now I will share with you the viewpoint that I cannot utter within 100 yards of any of my stores.

I do not believe that mankind caused global warming. I do believe in almost all of the steps being taken to reduce global warming, but I feel that the planet has more immediate problems, namely those resulting from the overpopulation that has accompanied the massive economic growth in previously poor countries like China and India.

People actually get angry with me when I state my global warming opinion. “How can you believe that?” they ask.

You cannot change a person’s beliefs. You can offer good arguments and back them up with statistics and facts. The fact remains that people need to change their beliefs by themselves. All of us in marketing are in the persuasion business. Taylor your messages to your prospect’s needs and desires. Try to avoid putting our primitive human minds in the negative mode.

How to Market to 10,000 Stoned College Students

Yesterday, a huge cloud formed over the University of Colorado. It did not come from a fire or from smog. It was a huge cloud of marijuana smoke created by 10,000 people lighting up in unison. Yesterday was 4/20.

For all the pot smokers of the world, 4/20 is the ultimate party holiday. At 4:20 on April 20th, celebrants ritually smoke marijuana. The students at the University of Colorado in Boulder take it to another level. They congregate in a field at the center of campus to smoke in unison.

The Crowd at 4:19 pm on 4/20/ 2009

The smoke cloud at 4:21 pm

Personally, I am against smoking anything. I have never even tried a cigarette, something that is probably due to watching two of my grandparents die from lung cancer. But the fact remains that each year on this day there are thousands of stoned students, hungry as a horde of locusts. and my ice cream shop just happens to be in the path of the swarm.

In the past, we never used to market to the participants of this holiday. Our totals in the early years were about 30% higher then a normal day. That changed three years ago. We now actively market to the post event zombies. This year, our sales were 500% higher than a normal day. That is not a typo. In the last 2 years, we have done five times what we normally do in a day.

Glacier Ice Cream on the Hill’s top secret stoner holiday plan

• Make hundreds of fresh baked waffle cones starting at 12:00 pm. People can smell them within a four block area.
  
• Pass out thousands of 4:20 special deal coupons all over campus starting the week before the event.
  
• Staff three times the normal amount of people to handle the crowds.
  
• Mention our 4/20 special to every customer.
  
• Pray for great weather.
  
• Play Reggae Music all day long.

The line outside Glacier at 4:30 on 4/20/2009

Dealing with over 1,000 stoned students in one day is quite an experience. Orders have to be repeated multiple times. People forget what they order, forget to pay, and often leave belongings. I never marketed for the 4/20 gathering in the past because I did not want to condone smoking pot. Yet, I have come to realize that I am not in the judgment business. If people want to smoke pot, who am I to deny them their ice cream cravings? 

Give and You Shall Receive

Everyone in business receives requests for donations, especially in this economic climate. But I challenge you to look at requests for donations in a different way.

What if you could actually help organizations and build your business at the same time? It’d be the classic win-win situation. Well, it is possible. It is a regular part of our business at Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato.

Not only do we have the best ice cream in the world, but we are a local business that gives to our community. We are asked to donate to various organizations an average of five times a week. Obviously, we cannot accommodate all of the requests. We have, however, instituted a system that is workable and fair.

Here are our donation guidelines:

• We only donate to children’s organizations and University of Colorado groups (one of our stores is next to the university).
• We donate (4) $5 gift cards for silent auctions.
• We donate free kid’s coupons for school non-profit events.
• All requests have to go through our website. No phone calls, letters, or dropped-off information.
• We will sometimes donate ice cream to events at the beginning of the school year and at the start of the spring season.
• We refuse all donations that don’t fit our guidelines with a personal and polite explanation.
• We donate free coloring books to schools. The coloring books feature our Glacier Bear doing activities at different glaciers around the world.

It is important to give back to the community that supports you. Not only will people appreciate it, but they will stay loyal to your business as long as you also continue to provide quality products.

There can be business benefits to your charitable donations as well. Below are the business benefits for the Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato donation program:

• Donations are a tax deduction.
• People form an emotional attachment with your company when they see you giving to the community.
• The organizations we donate to usually put Glacier’s name in print and mention us in advertisements. We benefit from free advertising.
• The coloring books we donate create awareness of the Glacier brand.
• When donation recipients pass out coupons for us, it becomes a great low cost marketing strategy.
• Children come in with their families to redeem their free ice cream coupon.
• Our coupons and gift cards expose new customers to our stores and our brand.
• The busy company president does not have to deal with constant phone calls and mailed letters. Our policies are clear and our employees know our guidelines and communicate them to donation solicitors.

A clear and generous donation program is a fantastic way to distinguish your company from your competition. Implement one, and you will discover the immense benefits of combining charitable donations with creative marketing.

Speak Your Customer’s Language

I needed help. My web building skills were seriously lacking. I couldn’t build the website I wanted. It was time for a Boulder Craigslist ad. I put up an ad describing what I wanted, and asked for samples of web designer’s work.

Next time, I will be clearer when placing the ad. I was looking for a local designer, but I received more responses from India than Boulder. Yet the actual responses to the ad were what really shocked me. Freelance web designers and even people who own website design companies generally have no clue how to sell their products. I wasn’t contacted by any local web-design companies. If I were in the business, I would be scanning Craigslist daily. It’s a free source to obtain work.

I consider myself to be of at least average intelligence. I am good at some things and hopeless at others. I am a terrible student of subjects I have no interest in. I used to read business books and magazines while my high school and college teachers were lecturing. I cannot build anything and have limited technical skills. I could probably be diagnosed with severe ADD. On the other hand, I am excellent in mental math, can remember any article I have read, and can speak Spanish very well and Mandarin fairly well. The point is, we all have things we are good at and can understand easily. We all also have things we are not so good at and do not understand well. For these things, I call in an expert.

I reviewed previous work from the web designers I contacted. I found a bunch of decent sites with introductions and pages full of flash that took too long to load. Customers are not looking for a Hollywood production. They want information and they want it fast.

I like to find an expert that can at least speak some of my language. I have found a serious disconnect between my language and the language of web designers. I checked xcitepro software. Looks great, but who builds it, and how do you build it? I tried to work with gatorhost and godaddy. Again, I am clueless. I currently have my retail businesses on an easy to use click and build site. I do not try to sell much on the site but it serves its purpose. I need more to run an Internet business, and I need help.

Back to Craigslist. I left my phone number with three web designers yesterday. One emailed back and requested the specs of the website before he would return my call. If I knew the damn specs, I would not need help in the first place. Any questions could have been answered by a phone call. Delete. I have two more prospects left. Neither one called back in a reasonable amount of time. Delete, delete. Back to square one.

The point of this is not to talk about my personal frustration. The point is, we must be reminded to talk to our own customers in the language they understand and can comprehend. This is not common sense advice. Too often, we assume people understand us when they do not.

And if anyone has advice for this special needs web wannabee, my computer is always on…

Expectations

I recently became snared in the Costco trap. I went to Costco recently to purchase razor blades. They did not have the blades I normally use so I bought a new brand razor with four blades in the cartridge instead of my normal three. I had no idea what the benefit of the fourth blade was. I decided to purchase the new razor pack with 20 extra cartridges. The 20 extra cartridges is the Costco trap. Purchasing inexpensive products in bulk that can take years to consume.

During my next shaving experience, I immediately found out the danger of the fourth blade. It's there to disfigure your face. While attempting to control the bleeding, I decided I was going back to my old three blade brand. My previous razor gave a much smoother shave and was easier to use.

The following shaving experience with my trusty three blade brand went flawlessly. I remember thinking how superior this razor was compared to the one that hacked my face. As I reached down to put the razor away, I was shocked I had used the wrong one, my weapon of facial destruction, the Costco razor.

I was surprised how easily my mind was deceived by this trivial incident. My expectations completely changed my perceptions. There is a marketing lesson to be learned from this experience.

Positive expectations increase the chances of a positive experience.
Negative expectations increase the chances of a negative experience.

This simple lesson explains how branding creates loyalty. You are loyal to brands because you expect the same positive experience, time and again. Using a trusted brand relieves you of the stress of having to make a choice every time you purchase (you wouldn’t normally switch unless you found a product that greatly exceeded the expectations of the old brand). A slight improvement is not enough.

Because we’re inclined to stick with our favorite brands, we often don’t try other products for comparison’s sake. One very powerful method to obtain new customers that are using a competitor is to simply give your product away. Show people who think they’re happy with a product that yours is superior.

Naturally, your brand has to continually provide customers with a quality product or service. Never give them a reason to consider switching to a competitor. Happy customers are usually loyal customers. Loyal customers tell other people about the positive experiences they’ve had, and thus create positive expectations for future customers.

" A very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. The simple process of focusing on things normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity"
– Edward de Bono

The Reasons We Buy

Recent research has confirmed that people often do not know why they buy. The psychology behind consumer choices can best be explained by people like Kevin Hogan or Philip Graves. Below is a list of 36 reasons why people might buy your product or service. The list can be a powerful reference source when you are developing your marketing plan.

1. They need what you are selling
2. Recommendation from a friend
3. They like you
4. You are attractive
5. They heard about you or your product from the media
6. They have no clue, but your product fills a deep psychological need
7. They have purchased from you before
8. You are an independent business
9. You support a cause they believe in
10. You have a great reputation
11. Price
12. You have confused or manipulated them (this is not recommended and it will eventually destroy your reputation)
13. You offer a strong guarantee
14. They have sampled your product
15. They are drawn to the smell of your product
16. Your product is unique and they are curious
17. Status
18. You can provide the product or service quickly
19. You are a friend or relative
20. Color
21. Your packaging
22. Convenience
23. Your product has a beautiful design
24. To feel better
25. To solve a problem
26. Great taste
27. Social Proof
28. To resell
29. To save time
30. To look more attractive
31. To relax
32. To relieve pain
33. To make work easier
34. To protect themselves or their family
35. Social Pressure
36. To increase knowledge

I have purposely left off additional reasons customers buy. Put your marketing and sales skills to the test. Let's see if you can add a few more to the list.

Sell Your Customers What They Want

Sales are slow. You can blame the economy, or the fact that your location stinks. But maybe the real problem is that you are not selling what people want.

You can enormously increase your profits by doing one simple thing: sell more of what customers want to buy. It is a simple concept, but for it to work, you have to have a system to track sales. Mass-merchants like Wal-Mart and Target have made phenomenal profits by implementing systems that integrate sales and inventory. Let's say a Target store receives a shipment of 24 shirts in the following colors:

Six red
Six blue
Six green
Six white

At the end of one week, the store sells six green shirts, four red shirts, one blue shirt, and one white shirt. An automatic restocking order is then generated for the following:

10 green shirts
2 red shirts
0 blue shirts
0 white shirts

Most stores would only replace what is sold. Target's system increases the par level for hot products, and reduces the par level for slow sellers. It doesn't hurt that they have amazing software that re-orders automatically.

Very few small-business people can afford to implement a system similar to Target’s. However, you can still track what people are buying. Systemize your inventory and purchasing system. Eliminate your slow selling products and increase the fast moving ones.

Customers often have no clue why they make purchases, but even the smallest nuance in a product can result in a sale. Analyze your sales. You may have a line of products that amounts to 20% of your inventory but accounts for 40% of your sales. Increase that line and decrease a slower selling line.

Ten years ago, a local business owner started selling pipes, bongs, novelties, and a small line of T-shirts. The T-shirts were unique and sold very well. She kept increasing the clothing line and decreasing the main line of products she started with. Today, this store is extremely profitable and 90% of the products sold are clothing and shoes. She recently opened a second store with only the clothing and shoes.

Start reaping the benefits of selling what people want. The easiest sale you can make is when a customer chooses a product simply because he desires it. Satisfy your customers' desires and watch your profits skyrocket.

"We don't like to be sold, we love to buy."
Jeffrey Gitomer